IS stripping of oil pan plug hole caused by dealer negligence or could there be a manufacturer defect?
The car is 26 years old for goodness sake! If the oil pan stripped, it IS negligence AND wear. The oil should have been changed more than 26 times at this point and these things don’t last forever. Have the mechanic install an insert instead of a new pan and move on.
Stop looking for someone to blame! At this point it is “maintenace” NOT malfeasance.
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Well, they didn’t make a PT Cruiser in 93 but stripping a drain plug comes from repeated over tightening. It is not necessarily caused by the last place to change the oil, unless they are the only one to have ever changed it.
Having said that, there are all sort of easy ways to fix it without replacing the pan, with the easiest and cheapest being an oversized drain plug available at any parts store.
Anything to justify someone else footing the bill…
Yep, part of owning an older car. Try an oversize plug made for the purpose, or you can get a rubber lined expansion plug that slips into the hole before tightening up. If the pan metal right at the plug is thick (as in 1/8 or more of steel) the oversize plug should be fine. If it’s thin, or of thinner aluminum, the rubber expansion model may be safer.